My last experience with an MMORPG beta (Vanguard) was less enjoyable than I expected. The game wasn’t very fun and did not seem ready for release. Now I’m playing in the Lord of the Rings Online beta. Since the NDA (non disclosure agreement) has been lifted, I’m free to discuss my experiences. So here are a few of my first impressions.

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First impressions last in the world of gaming. It is inescapable. Beta testing can either make or break a game… before it is even released. A good way to build a solid player base for a game is to have a solid beta. The game should be playable for the most part, and large bugs should be mostly ironed out before this time. World of Warcraft is an excellent example of this. Blizzard opted to go through beta testing without an NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement). This meant that all beta testers were allowed to discuss their testing experiences, both good and bad, post screenshots, etc. It was quite a risk to take, but Blizzard triumphed because the beta made a great first impression.

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Today Blizzard gave a press release concerning their subscriber count… 8 million. Of course I immediately questioned whether that number included actual current subscribers or anyone who has ever had a WoW account. The answer is at the bottom of the press release.

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So… after downloading updates for many hours, then downloading some more, I finally made it into Vanguard for a short while. There is an NDA (non-disclosure agreement) for the beta so far, so I can’t say much until the NDA is lifted. However, I will say that the first thing that struck me is that the UI is almost exactly the same as another game I’ve played (starting with a ‘W’). It’s like they copied all the color schemes and textures directly! Other than the graphics, it is hard to tell it is a different game. As you can see in screenshots, the graphics go for a more realistic look. The races available seem very similar to EQ2 (and I would guess EQ also). Character creation is pretty extensive, but I didn’t play around with it much. Not too long after I got into the game to play a little, they had to take the server down for an update. I’m going out of town until New Year’s, so I probably won’t be able to play again until then.

What an unexpected email to receive the week before Christmas! I vaguely remember signing up for the Vanguard forums and applying for the beta a while back, but I haven’t been keeping up with the MMORPG world or Vanguard. Vanguard is being developed by some of the original EverQuest devs who left Sony to create their own company (Sigil Games). More recently, SOE is now publishing Vanguard.

While I’m waiting the hours it takes to install the updates, I guess I better go get up to date on the game!

Update: I found the trailer for the game. Go to the Sony Station Site and click on the “Watch the Trailer” button in the upper right. While it may not be the highest quality, it looks like actual in game footage instead of CGI. There is a dragon in there that looks like it might be one of the flying mounts I have seen mentioned. There are also a bunch of screenshots on that page.